Archives for April 25, 2013

Patrick Mitchell, 2A legend and 2012 US National YoYo Champion, will be the featured guest on the next YoYoRadio broadcast – coming tomorrow, April 26th, at 9:30 pm (EST). Patrick will be discussing the evolution of 2A yo-yoing as well as his current sales position at YoYoFactory.

YoYoRadio is the first internet radio show by and for yoyoers; a one-hour show that broadcasts live each Friday at 9:30 pm (EST). You can listen live and/or download the show later from the archives. Conceived and hosted by Joe Mitchell, the show began in 2005 and is the first of its kind. Other internet radio shows and podcasts have come and gone, but YoYoRadio has stood the test of time.

YoYoJam is digging into their archives and offering up some rarities and prototypes on eBay, with more models to be listed in weeks to come. Some cool stuff up right now, including a couple of prototypes with the ill-fated Synergy caps. Check the widget below for their current auctions but hurry…they’re 3-day auctions so these YoYoJam prototypes will be gone soon!

Monday was the grand opening of the new location of YoYoStore, one of the few dedicated yoyo shops in the world, owned and operated by Jan “Korda” Kordovsky. Players lined the streets waiting for the shop to open, and piled in to celebrate the new space. There was tons of video and photos from the event…congratulations to Korda and YoYoStore!

The 2013 Bay Area Classic is coming up soon, and registration closes May 15th, 2013. Remember, you MUST register online in advance this year…there will be NO registration available the day of the event.

One of my favorite things about yoyo history is all the weird stuff that falls out when you shake the family tree. And of all the ill-advised yoyo designs from years past, by far the most compelling is the P213.

Originally conceived by Doctor Popular, and based off old combination yoyo/spin top toys like the Kusan Twin Twirler and the Cheerio Double Doozer, Project 213 was a combination yoyo and spin top with a more modern and functional design than those before it.

Project 213 had a brief surge of popularity in the late 90s / early 2000s that was mostly hampered by two things: first, it was just really damn weird. And second, you had to make them yourself because no one sold them. Granted, this was at at time when yoyo modding was enjoying a huge renaissance, helped in part by the new online resources that actually allowed players to show off their mods and swap tips and techniques, and also by the fact that suddenly there was so much raw material out there for use, and a lot of companies used interchangeable parts. But still…you either had to make it yourself, or find someone willing to, and neither was particularly easy.

While Doc Pop was certainly the first to really build tricks for P213 (and the guy who named it), it was Chris Neff who fully embraced the possibilities and continued working not only on tricks, but also on steadily improving the actual design of the thing and manufacturing them one at a time for sale to similarly obsessed yoyo players looking for a new challenge. Despite Chris’ best efforts, P213 still never really took off although it does enjoy a certain fondness in the hearts of a handful of players who look past the inherent impracticality of being really good at something that almost no one cares about.

Here are a couple of old videos of Chris Neff using a P213 to it’s fullest capabilities. Enjoy!